How to Improve Math Education

Math education is good, but has a lot of room for improvement. Better teachers would be a wonderful place to start. Teachers at Booker T are all great, but at many high schools the math teachers have developed a reputation for being the old, boring and strict ones. Another way to improve would be in the method of teaching. In Japan, students are not told they are wrong, but they are forced to prove all their answers. Proving answers makes sure that students understand the material and can show how they got thier answers. Only when these issues are addressed can America compete with the rest of the world in the math department again.

by Graham Dudley and Alex Pucciarelli

Is Math Important to Artists?

Most people have trouble seeing how math is applicable to their particular field of study. Artists are no exception. Although they may not enjoy math, being primarily left-brained people, a basic understanding of math concepts is essential for everyone and these skills will be used by everyone for their entire lives. Artists in particular have several practical applications for math skills. Visual artists can use math when making canvases and learning about perspective. Music students need mathematical skills to read music and keep time. Theatre kids need to learn about math for lighting and technical classes. And dance students need math to choreograph their numbers.
by Graham Dudley and Alex Pucciarelli

Why we Hate Math

Why do we hate math? Math has never been good to us. Alex says that in seventh grade she had a creepy math teacher who gave girls his Myspace and was a very bad teacher. She slept often in his class and didn't get much out of it. Graham just never quite got on the bandwagon; even in elementary school he struggled to remain in honors classes and do well. He wasn't used to working hard on anything and because math didn't come naturally to him, he disliked it. He's been spreading the hate ever since. Since Alex got to Booker T Washington, she's noticed a difference in the teachers. She likes them much better than the ones in middle school, but says she struggled with geometry nonetheless. Graham is new to the school; he can say, however, that his math teacher, Mrs. Jalilvand is approaching the class in a fresh direction and, for perhaps the first time, Graham is not yet feeling overwhelmed in math. He liked Algebra I better than Geometry anyhow, so maybe the simple jump to Algebra II will make his experience more enjoyable.

by Graham Dudley and Alex Pucciarelli

Why People Don't Like Math

Most people just don't like math. It's not their favorite sujbect; it's not in their top five favorite subjects. What has created this almost universal cynicism toward this helpful and applicable class? One reason might be that some students are not visual learners and there are very few ways to teach math other than visually. Other reasons might include bad teaching and uninteresting teachers. It is easy for one bad memory in math class to ruin a child's mathematical life. Yet another reason could be that students don't find math applicable to their everyday lives. They find it hard to relate to anything around them, despite the fact that math is involved in everything around them. If these issues can be addressed, perhaps math will become more enjoyable to more students.

by Graham Dudley and Alex Pucciarelli

Rising Polar Bear Populations and Data

Scientists in the article I discovered (http://newsbusters.org/node/12694) say that the polar bear population in Canada's eastern Arctic has grown 150% in the last two decades, going from 850 in the 1980's to 2,100 today. This data can be represented graphically and used to predict future polar bear populations, which will be affected primarily by hunting but should continue to rise. The population, when graphed, would have a (probably weak) positive trend and would serve as a perfect example of Friday's lesson.

Back to School

I like this idea of having a blog to keep up with my algebra assignments because math has always been one of my worst subjects and I think having a personal connection to the teacher and assignments will help me immensely. I look forward to the rest of my first year at Booker T. Washington and I hope math class stays classy!